With both Cape Town City and Cape Town Spurs suffering relegation from the PSL, the city’s football scene has hit rock bottom, writes AIDEN DARIES.
“In one devastating season, both of the Mother City’s top clubs have been flushed out of the Premier Soccer League structure,” Daries writes in a Capetownetc.com post, marking a low point for a city once considered the heart of South African football.
City FC’s relegation followed a dismal playoff defeat to Orbit College, while Spurs — formerly Ajax Cape Town — suffered back-to-back relegations into the third tier. Behind the collapse lies mismanagement, fractured club ownership, and the death of the city’s football identity.
“Cape Town football is not dead, but it is unconscious,” Daries argues. “The soul is there, in the community games and the memories of packed stadiums.”
The piece traces decades of decline, from Ajax Cape Town’s disbanding to the ongoing failure to invest in grassroots structures. While the city still produces raw talent, a lack of support, leadership, and infrastructure continues to stifle progress.
“The question is no longer how far Cape Town football has fallen. The question now is: who will take responsibility for lifting it up again?”
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
